Jobs Spain - Jobs in Spain for English Speaking People

JOBS IN SPAIN

This page is for English-speaking people trying to find English jobs in Spain. Our assumption in writing this page on searching for English speaking jobs in Spain is that you are not Spanish, you are most likely from the United Kingdom, America or another European country and you are planning on moving to Spain and therefore want to find out as much information on jobs in Spain - and even if possible to get a job offer in Spain before you make your move and relocate. So basically you are an expat looking for popular jobs vacancies in Spain and you are regarded as a foreigner in Spain.

FINDING JOBS IN SPAIN IS DIFFICULT

When looking for job opportunities in Spain you may need to lower your expectations of what type of job prospects you can find. We know you want to find the best jobs in Spain and no doubt you have dreamed of a better quality of life and you want to move to Spain but you must realise in advance that unemployment is high in Spain and job opportunities are limited and much lower paid than in Northern Europe and the USA. If you are moving to Spain and looking for a job then you are immediately at a disadvantage due to the language barrier.

Even if you speak fluent Spanish (Castellano) many regions of Spain have their own dialects - for example in the Costa Brava (Barcelona) area they primarily speak Catalan. Even if you are fluent in the language, in Spain most jobs are given to locals who are often close family members or relatives.

In any case competition for a job in Spain offering a contract which comes with an entitlement to medical care is intense and employers can afford to be very choosy. Unemployent in Spain is very high and competition for positions and openings are fierce just even among the Spanish locals. Also in Spain there are many illegal immigrants from North Africa and Eastern Europe) competing for low-paid, menial job positions.

As a foreigner competing against Spanish nationals for jobs you are immediately at a disadvantage and certainly it would be best to concentrate on looking for English speaking jobs in Spain. The most common types of English jobs on offer will be bar jobs, construction and buildings jobs, sales jobs and jobs in the travel and tourist sector such as driving jobs and catering jobs.

At least if you are from the United Kingdom, as an European Union citizen you won't have the need to obtain a work permit and apply for a residencia, something which many Americans, Canadians and Australians who want to work in Madrid and Barcelona have to overcome first. Also most UK qualifications will also be recognised in Spain.

JOBS IN SPAIN - EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS, WAGES, PAY AND WORKING HOURS

We are always being asked - what are the best paid jobs in Spain, what job offers are available and how much can I earn in Spain? If you are lucky in your search for finding a job in Spain you will then find that your wages and take home pay are much lower than equivalent jobs in other countries such as the United Kingdom or America. For example if you have a salary of £30,000 and you find an equivalent job position in Spain you may be paid about €20,000 - and although the cost of living in Spain is lower - it isn't that much lower! If you are in a legal job your employer will deduct national insurance (social security) and tax.

Not only do jobs in Spain pay less you also tend to work longer hours. Most jobs in Spain start at around 9am some 10am with a long lunch break of two hours before resuming until 7pm or 8pm. While your job in Spain may have a long lunch hour for what is known as siesta time - if you have a young family then that is no consolation as you won't see them much until the weekends.

It's an unfortunate fact that many people who come to Spain searching for employment, a job and a better quality of life end up finding a job that is low paid and comes with longer working hours than they used to work back home. Many people end up disillusioned and end up leaving Spain for financial reasons.

WHERE TO FIND JOBS IN SPAIN

If you are trying to get a job in Spain before you move to Spain then using the Internet to find jobs online is your best way of finding a job. It has to be said it is hard to find job vacancies in Spain because Spain does not have as many job recruitment agencies or employment agencies as other countries do so you are limited to searching for jobs on websites, in particular expat websites often have bulletin boards where job vacancies, openings in Spain and jobs wanted in Spain are posted.

When you are living in Spain you will find getting and searching for a job is much easier - although - we repeat our advice that good jobs in Spain are still thin on the ground. Most job vacancies in Spain are through word of mouth and in local newspapers.

You will find the best possibilities for finding jobs in Spain would be in the coastal areas which have large expat populations and therefore companies catering to the needs of these expats. These areas primarily are the Costa del Sol (especially Malaga, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmadena and Torremolinos areas) and the Costa Blanca (Alicante, Torrevieja, Benidorm, Calpe, Javea, Moraira and Denia areas).

To give you an idea of the most popular areas of Spain that people speaking English are seeking and searching for work and English jobs in Spain - we get a lot of people emailing us asking where they can find job vacancies in Benidorm, Calpe, Torrevieja, Alicante, Malaga, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Lloret de Mar and Tossa del Mar. These areas are the most popular for people looking for English jobs in Spain.

WHAT TYPE OF JOBS IN SPAIN SHOULD YOU SEARCH FOR?

First of all - when looking for vacancies and jobs in Spain you need to be flexible and be willing to change career direction entirely. Your best hope for finding a job in Spain would be at a company that needs people who speak English - for example a computer company who deal internationally or a Spanish property company that market to British buyers and who can offer you English jobs in Spain.

In fact most job vacancies in Spain for English speakers will be in the property market industry in the areas where expats live. There are many jobs in the Spanish property market - this includes sales positions which are almost always commission based as well as jobs for people in property maintenance companies - in other words construction jobs and building jobs for English speaking people.

There are also many jobs and positions available in Spain's tourist industry although often of a seasonal and part-time nature, these include promoting for bars and clubs, hotel work, catering jobs, airport jobs, villa rental jobs, tour and travel reps, car hire jobs and there are plenty of cleaning jobs available in Spain. Spain's popularity as a tourist destination also means there are driving jobs in Spain such as coach driving jobs and driving people to the airport and back as well as related driving jobs such as taxi jobs and HGV jobs.

Other typical jobs you are likely to find would be jobs that cater to the large expat population in Spain, these include: cleaning swimming pools, gardening jobs, villa cleaning jobs, bar jobs and bar work, hairdressing jobs, shop and retail work in English goods shops, taxi service, driving jobs including removals, restaurant jobs such as chefs, waiters and waitresses, fitness jobs, beautician jobs, pet care jobs, computer services, business services such as graphic design, computer repair, insurance sales positions, customer service jobs, there are many English newspaper and magazines requiring writers and sales people etc - we hope this list gives you some idea of the types of jobs in Spain that are the most likely possibilities when you are job searching.

One of the problems with jobs in Spain is the seasonal aspect - for example getting holiday jobs and summer jobs in Spain such as bar work in Spain or being a waiter or waitress is fine in the July and August but come October you may find you are out of a job! Still if you are a student these jobs could be great fun over the summer.

There are few management jobs, few marketing jobs, legal jobs, education jobs, media jobs, office jobs or executive jobs in Spain for professional people although there are some secretarial and administrative positions working for companies such as legal and financial companies. You also won't find many care or nursing jobs available in Spain. For professional jobs search for vacancies in the major cities of Spain such as Madrid and Barcelona.

Anyone searching for vacancies and IT jobs in Spain (IT stands for information technology) stand a good chance as many I.T. companies have job offers and opportunities for English speaking people because this is an international industry and Spanish language skills will not usually be necessary.

TEFL JOBS IN SPAIN - JOBS IN SPAIN TEACHING ENGLISH

Many people imagine they can easily get a job in Spain teaching English. Well you can find teaching English jobs in Spain especially if you have a teaching qualification such as TEFL (this stands for teaching English as a foreign language) but there are more people wanting teaching English jobs than there are job vacancies and pay is very low as a result.

BAR JOBS IN SPAIN

Bar jobs in Spain undoubtedly rate as one of the most popular English jobs in Spain because most expats cannot speak Spanish well enough to get clerical employment and secretarial work in Spain - so getting bar work is a relatively easy way of getting into Spain.

Most bar jobs in Spain will be on a part-time basis without a contract meaning your employment will be without medical benefits or unemployment benefits. Bar jobs in Spain require working long unsociable hours, often until the bars close at 2 or 3 in the morning.

For English speaking bar jobs in Spain we suggest searching in the major tourist resorts and destinations such as Madrid, Barcelona, Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Majorca (Mallorca), Canary Islands, Menorca, Tenerife, Alicante, Torrevieja, Benidorm, Marbella, Malaga, Mijas, Benalmadena, Torremolinos and Fuengirola.

CONSTRUCTION JOBS IN SPAIN - JOBS IN SPAIN FOR TRADESMEN

Construction and building jobs in Spain are by far one of the very best ways of getting a job in Spain. The boom in the Spanish property market has led to an explosion of new housing and renovations on older properties and so there are many property jobs.

With the amounts of United Kingdom residents buying property they like to deal with people who can speak English. If you are a tradesmen such as a builder, electrician, plumber, painter, tiler, plasterer, bricklayer, labourer or another construction type tradesman then you are likely to find construction jobs in Spain as companies and employers are still hiring for these types of positions. Wages and rates of pay are likely to be in the region of €100-€130 a day.

Competition for construction jobs in Spain is fierce. Southern Costa Blanca going rate is approx. €80 a day. Northern Costa Blanca is €130 but costs of living are higher.

SALES JOBS IN SPAIN

There are many sales jobs in Spain because there are many companies providing services to the growing expat population in Spain. These businesses and companies know that so many people want to move to Spain that they can easily find people looking for work and available vacancies - admin positions as well as for sales.

The downside to this is that most sales jobs are paid on commission only, sometimes you will receive a very low basic pay with potential bonuses on top. Rarely will you be offered a full-time position with a contact with all the benefits that go with that. Most sales jobs in Spain involve telesales where you telephone people trying to sell them products such as cheap telephone calls, villa painting etc.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 1
Have at least six months money as savings to live on while you try finding a job in Spain.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 2
Learn as much Spanish as possible BEFORE you move to Spain as this massively increases your chances of finding job opportunities in Spain.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 3
Be prepared to turn your hand to anything to get a foothold in Spain and accept any jobs that are available.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 4
Be prepared to work longer hours as jobs in Spain start earlier and finish later.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 5
Be prepared to work for a lot less than you are used to as wages, job benefits and perks are a lot less in Spain.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 6
Learn a new skill, especially something practical and use it to get a job or start your own business.

GETTING A JOB IN SPAIN - TIP 7
If you have a skill consider starting your own business in Spain instead of looking for a job in Spain, then you are in control. Also consider working from home. Most expats end up self-employed (becoming an autonomo) in order to earn enough money to survive in Spain.

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Related Make a Living in Spain Pages:

Make a Living in Spain Main Index | Business For Sale in Spain | Buying a Bar in Spain | Finding Work in Spain | Starting a Business in Spain | Business Opportunities in Spain | Franchises in Spain | Summer Jobs in Spain| Why Expat Businesses Fail | Jobs in Spain| Bar Jobs in Spain| Job Opportunities in Spain